The Girl behind the Books
by darkladywolf
Summary: Uraltugo was having a bad day and by the looks of it, it was only going to get worse...That was until he met the substitute librarian...*I don't own Naruto and/or Magi*


Uraltugo's shoulders were slumped as he walked with his eyes focused on his feet and his Staff held almost dejectedly in his hand. A number of magicians greeted him happily but he could only nod at them in response, completely unlike his usual polite self. He couldn't even bring himself to feel embarrassed when a company off female magicians passed by him, all giggles and conspiring smiles. He sighed deeply and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

The day was warm as it usually was in Alma Torran but the pleasantly cool breeze of early autumn made the heat bearable. Magicians of all ages were walking through the streets, conversing animatedly among themselves with smiles on their faces, enjoying the sun and the lively surroundings. Too bad Uraltugo wasn't one of them.

The young man blushed a dark red when he tripped over a stone he hadn't noticed standing innocently in his way, lost as he was in thought, and picked up his pace when he saw a company of magicians-probably younger than him and much less aware of the world around them-muffling giggles and glancing at him in the corner of their eyes.

'_Perhaps Falan and Ithnan are right…..'_ he thought, running a hand through his spiky light-blue hair. _'Perhaps I really am just a Magic Otaku…'_ It wasn't the first time, really. Thoughts such as these quite often plagued his mind, more often than not caused by the teasing of Ithnan and Falan; Wahid would occasionally join in with a few words of his own but he usually preferred to stay out of their bickering. Setta on his part, would just shake his head, comment on how childish they were being and take his leave, claiming that he had far more important things to do than stay and listen to them quarrel.

Ithnan was an entirely different story. The man was merciless in his teasing and once he started, nothing could stop him. His arrogance was apparent in every single word that slipped past his lips and he never missed the chance to point out what he perceived was cowardice on Uraltugo's part. The young blue-haired male couldn't really blame him for thinking of him like that. Ithnan was a charismatic warrior when needed and he wielded very powerful magic, earning him the respect of many magicians. Urarltugo was probably the polar opposite. He'd much rather spend his days working with numbers, laws of physics and chemical reactions. The world of science had always had a certain unique-almost magical-pull on him and the prospect of developing new theories or discovering new mathematical formulas had always excited him. After all, the magic they wielded was highly dependent on such theories and knowing that he contributed to Solomon's cause by utilizing his-undeniably-strongest point was enough a reward. Uraltugo did have some confidence issues but he was perfectly aware of his intellectual superiority.

According to Ithnan and Falan, that was the problem. Sometimes, he was just _too_ intelligent. His love of numbers and science more often than not pushed people away from him since his talk of those fields hardly ever interested anybody but himself. Uraltugo could still hear Ithnan's cackling ringing in his ears as he told him that "he was never going to get a girlfriend with all that science talk." Uraltugo sighed. Ithnan was probably right. He was extremely self-aware when it came to the opposite sex and the fact that he tended to stammer out mathematics every time he met a girl due to his nervousness didn't help his case at all. Women liked strong, independent and confident guys like Wahid and Ithnan. Well, he…..he was just the 'Magic Otaku', as Ithnan and Falan had so kindly taken to calling him.

The young male sighed and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. The street he was in was mostly quite with only a couple of people here and there, most of them standing under the shade created by rooftops and tents in order to get out of the merciless sun. His feet seemed to be moving on their own as he took a right turn and he immediately recognized the tall building in which's shadow he was standing.

After all, it was the only place that could lift his spirits when he was down…..

XxOxOxOxxX

The smell of age-worm paper reached his nose and a small smile touched Uraltugo's lips as he walked inside the impressive library of Alma-Torran. He could already feel his mood improving as he took silent steps inside the building, not wanting to disturb the peace and quiet. The library had always been a place of serenity to him, his own little sanctuary. The books and scrolls lined perfectly on the tall wooden shelves never had always been his way of escaping. They opened their pages just for him and offered him the knowledge he was so thirsty for. Each book had its own story to tell, each scroll sang a different song and each map pictured a different journey. He especially liked the older ones. Books with age-worn leather covers, broken spines and yellow-ish pages that smelled of moisture along with ancient knowledge and tranquility. They always proved to be greater challenges, filled with long-forgotten formulas waiting to be rediscovered and page-long equations that challenged his mind.

'_Every book is a new world. Every world leads to a different adventure….'_ he thought, his smile widening slightly as he made his way towards the librarian's desk. The old man knew him rather well, since Uraltugo never missed a chance to pay a visit to his favorite scrolls or isolate himself at the far corner of the room in order to continue his research on Rukh and its properties and it was on more than one occasion that the kind librarian had allowed the Divine Staff wielder to remain in the library long after closing time.

He was surprised to find that the old man was absent.

"Numair-san?" he called as loudly as he could without disturbing the peace and quiet. He frowned when he got no answer. The old man rarely ever left his desk, and even then he was never at a distance that would prevent him from hearing someone calling him. Uraltugo was about to call the librarian's name a second time when a voice he didn't recognize stopped him.

"Forgive me for making you wait! I had to arrange a few books that arrived today. How may I help you?"

The voice was sweet and gentle, laced with kindness and reserved mirth. Uraltugo turned around and his eyes widened at the sight of the young woman staring at him with a bright smile on her face. Her hair fell to mid-back and was the color of pink roses, like the ones Sheba loved to put in her hair. For a moment he wondered if it really was as soft as it looked but he quickly shook the thought off. Her eyes were the clearest emerald he had ever had the fortune of encountering and they shone like gems under the light flooding the library through the big windows on either wall of the huge room.

"P-Please, don't let me b-bother you." he said and cursed himself for stuttering like that. "I was just wondering where Numair-san was…"

He frowned slightly when her smile faltered a bit. "Unfortunately, Numair-san has fallen ill and has taken leave for a while. I'll be taking over his position as librarian until he gets better. Hopefully, he will be back soon." she said and smiled at him kindly, making him blush. "Are you a friend of his?"

Uraltugo scratched the back of his head bashfully. "Y-You can say that. I come here very often so he knows me pretty well."

Her emerald eyes lit up. "That's so nice! He's such a kind man….Oh! Forgive my rudeness! My name's Sakura. Nice to meet you." she said and extended her hand.

For a few seconds Uraltugo was at a loss of what to do. He wasn't good with women and for some reason he really didn't want to embarrass himself in from of this young librarian with the unique pink hair and the beautiful emerald eyes. Almost hesitantly, he raised his own arm and joined their hands in a shy handshake. Her skin felt warm and soft under his fingers and he felt his face heat up at the contact.

"My name is Uraltugo Noi Nueph."

Her eyes widened and she giggled. The young man couldn't help but notice how much different her giggle sounded in comparison to Falan's. While hers was teasing and mocking, Sakura's was kind and mirthful and full of light. "That's a very interesting name!"

Uraltugo blushed. "I know it is long!" he said quickly and averted his gaze from her sparkling emerald eyes in embarrassment. "I mean, most people find it difficult and weird…What I want to say-"

"How about I call you Ugo then?" she interrupted him with a sweet, wide smile.

Uraltugo's head snapped up and he stared at her for a few seconds with something akin to amazement in his red eyes before his lips curled up in a genuine smile. "Ugo…." he said, testing the word on his tongue. "I like that…."

XxxOxOxOxxX

"Good morning, Ugo-kun!"

The young man smiled as he walked inside the comforting environment of the library to find Sakura beaming at him from behind the librarian's desk with her emerald eyes sparkling behind the pair of glasses she usually wore when she was reading.

"Good morning to you too, Sakura." he greeted her once he reached her and smiled at the young woman. "I brought back the books I borrowed the other day." he added as he deposited a couple of thick leather-bound volumes on her desk. She immediately set her own book aside and took the ones he had left in her arms. Seeing her struggle a bit under the weight of the heavy volumes, Ugo immediately rushed to her side before grabbing her elbows to steady her and taking one of the thick boos off her arms.

With a small blush on her face that Ugo couldn't help but find incredibly endearing, the young woman flashed him a grateful smile. "Thanks Ugo-kun."

The blue-haired male blushed. He still wasn't used to her calling him 'Ugo-kun.' No one else had ever added that suffix to his name and he found himself enjoying the pleasant warmth at his stomach every time she did. "Anytime, Sakura."

After putting the books back to their respective positions on the shelves, both Sakura and Ugo made their way back to her desk where the young woman had made sure to put a second chair just for him every time he visited her-which was almost every day since the day they met two weeks ago, really. Sitting down beside her, Ugo stole a glance at the book in her hands and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Are you interested in Chemistry?" he asked curiously since she had never mentioned any kind of interest in that particular field.

Sakura glanced up at the young man beside her with a smile. "Well, my strong point is Healing Magic and I do wish to develop and expand it more. Some of these chemical reactions and formulas have given me a very interesting insight and have offered precious help in creating my own unique healing spells."

Ugo stared at her in wonder as she spoke, focusing on the sound of her voice and the inviting curve of her lips as she described some of the spells she had devised on her own. He could honestly say that he was impressed. Most magicians didn't make any attempts at creating their own spells unless they had mastered their Magic Elements and even then, it required much studying and careful planning if one wanted to stay safe. Magic was powerful but it could also become unstable and cause serious injuries if handled thoughtlessly. If she had created her own spells, it meant that she had at least mastered Healing Magic. That alone was rather impressive considering Healing Magic required some of the most complicated commands in order to be performed.

"I have no problem with Healing Magic, really." she continued. "But lately, I've been trying to combine it with other types of Magic, but I haven't been successful. I've been going through every book I can get my hands on but I still haven't found what I'm missing." she said and sighed heavily.

Ugo scratched the back of his head sheepishly and smiled shyly at the young woman. "I can help you if you want….."

Sakura's head snapped up and her beautiful emerald eyes stared up at him in surprise and wonder, making his heart beat faster. "You really mean that?"

"O-Of course!"

A beaming smile touched her lips and she immediately threw her arms around Ugo's neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Ugo-kun!"

Ugo was almost sure that his heart was going to burst through his chest and the blush blooming on his cheeks rivaled Sakura's hair. No woman-or any other for that matter-had ever initiated such kind of contact with him before. And this wasn't just any woman. This was _Sakura_. Her hair tickled his nose and he could smell the sweet scent of her skin as she hugged him closer. The feeling of her body pressed up against his bare midriff caused a tingling sensation to run throughout his body as he hesitantly hugged her back.

It was at that moment, he realized, that he finally found something or rather _someone_ that interested him far more than mathematics or physics. For the first time in his life, science be damned…..

**THE END**

**So, I've been asked to write an UgoXSakura crossover before and so here it is, as requested! Actually, I was quite surprised by how many people wanted to see an UgoXSakura crossover. I had so much fun writing this! Ugo-kun is just so cute! I'm sorry if any of the information I mentioned about Alma-Torran is incorrect. We really don't know all that much about that time and it's been a while since I last read the manga, so I wouldn't know if any new information has been revealed. I hope you enjoyed this-especially the ones who requested it! Tell me if you have any more requests. Priority will be given to the pairing that was asked for by the majority of people. Next, I'll be uploading a SinbadXSakura one-shot, as requested. Until then…READ AND REVIEW! **

**Lots of love! **


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